Meta Platforms has reached a settlement with a bipartisan coalition of U.S. state attorneys general, agreeing to pay up to $18 billion and implement significant new protections for teenagers using Instagram and Facebook. The settlement resolves litigation that accused Meta of creating features designed to promote compulsive use among young users, although the company denies any wrongdoing.

Under the terms of the agreement, Facebook and Instagram will impose a default combined daily screen time limit of two hours for teenage users, which can only be extended with parental permission. Access to both platforms will be restricted from midnight to 6 a.m., and most notifications will be disabled during typical school hours, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additional measures include periodic prompts encouraging breaks after extended scrolling sessions, the option for teenagers to switch to a non-personalized content feed, and the ability to disable autoplay of videos. Like counts will no longer be visible by default. Meta also committed to enhancing age verification processes, improving parental controls, and strengthening protections against unwanted contact.

The settlement could signal a shift in how social media platforms manage youth engagement, addressing longstanding concerns about the effect of excessive online activity on teenagers’ well-being. Critics have argued that extended time spent on social media can detract from activities such as sleep, exercise, learning, and face-to-face interaction. Psychologist Jean Twenge has emphasized the importance of limiting social media use during school hours and at night to safeguard adolescent development.

However, recent studies present a more nuanced picture of teenage social media use. Research from the Pew Research Center shows that many teenagers value these platforms for entertainment, maintaining friendships, connecting with shared interests, and accessing news. The majority of surveyed teens reported they believe they spend an appropriate amount of time on social media, though a notable portion of TikTok users indicated they spend excessive time on the app and that it negatively affects their sleep.

Critics of the settlement warn that enhanced age verification systems may introduce new privacy risks if they rely on personal data such as identification documents or biometric analysis. There are ongoing concerns about the reliability of current technology to accurately distinguish minors from adults without compromising user privacy.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal welcomed the settlement as progress but emphasized the need for broader legislation since the new rules apply only to Meta’s platforms and do not automatically extend to competitors like TikTok and YouTube, which also engage large adolescent audiences. Part of Meta’s financial agreement is structured to incentivize other social media companies to adopt similar protections, potentially setting a wider industry standard.

For years, the onus of managing teenagers’ social media use has largely rested on parents and young users themselves, while technology companies benefited from features designed to maximize engagement. This agreement marks a notable shift, placing increased responsibility on platform operators to mitigate risks associated with youth use. If the settlement encourages industry-wide changes, its impact could extend well beyond Meta’s own services.